by Simplar | Jun 12, 2025 | Built Environment, Business of Construction, Financial Management and Risk, Financial Management and Risk, Leadership, Leadership, Risk Management, Risk Management, Weekly Construction Message
Contractors often wait too long to employ the business management expertise of a qualified Chief Financial Officer. Small and mid-size businesses across all industries have traditionally left accounting to a bookkeeper, hiring an outside accounting firm to close the...
by Simplar | May 29, 2025 | Built Environment, Business of Construction, Financial Management and Risk, Financial Management and Risk, Project Selection, Project Selection, Weekly Construction Message
“A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” As most of my readers I am sure will testify, I don’t often quote Shakespeare. But the confusion around the word profit in the construction industry has driven me to desperate measures. What do we mean...
by Simplar | May 23, 2025 | Built Environment, Business Failure, Business of Construction, Business, Strategic and Project Planning, Financial Management and Risk, Financial Management and Risk, Leadership, Leadership, Weekly Construction Message
Last week we established that the high failure rate in the construction industry comes down to a single cause – a shortage of working capital. Some blame failures on a whole variety of causes: labor unrest, natural disasters, economic stress, market shrinkage,...
by Simplar | May 15, 2025 | Business, Strategic & Project Planning, Cash Flow (Getting Paid), Financial Management and Risk, Financial Management and Risk, Growth, Growth, Leadership, Weekly Construction Message
Last week we discussed the irony of the construction industry’s traditional low-bid acquisition system. It seems you can’t win the game of making money if you pick up all your work by being the cheapest price. On the other hand, you can’t even play...
by Simplar | May 8, 2025 | Built Environment, Business of Construction, Growth, Organizational Change Management, Organizational Change Management, Weekly Construction Message
Browse the Dodge Report and submit a competitive bid, to acquire any work that is available. Simple. For many years this was standard operating procedure in the construction industry. Selecting the lowest qualified bidder was mandated by regulation for most public...
by Simplar | May 1, 2025 | Built Environment, Business of Construction, Financial Management and Risk, Financial Management and Risk, Risk Management, Weekly Construction Message
I experienced this firsthand when my company was sent in by sureties to complete projects interrupted by a contractor’s unexpected failure. The Contractors were always shocked that they did not see it coming. The question is why didn’t anyone see it...
